


castle on the hill

by proudlygoingnowhere



Category: The Girl Talk
Genre: Ben Spelman, Jack Bird, Jon Cooke Allen, Mark McKenna - Freeform, Nostalgia, The Girl Talk - Freeform, castle on the hill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-05 20:45:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10316639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/proudlygoingnowhere/pseuds/proudlygoingnowhere
Summary: Jon, Mark, Jack, and Ben take a week out of their tour to go back to Ireland and visit the place they call home.Loosely based on Ed Sheeran's song "Castle on the Hill."





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [windupkatya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/windupkatya/gifts).



"Ladies and gentlemen, it is officially two-thirty in the afternoon, and we have arrived at Dublin Airport." The pilot's voice echoed around the airplane cabin.

Mark looked excitedly at Jack, who was sitting in the seat next to him, deeply lost in whatever song he was listening to. "Mate, we're here," Mark said, unbuckling his seat belt. When he noticed that Jack wasn't paying any attention to him, he yanked one earbud out of his ear. "We're here," Mark repeated, smiling.

"Oh," Jack said, coming to. "That was quick. I expected it to be a longer trip." He shoved his earbuds and phone into his backpack.

Jon popped his head up from the seat behind Jack. "It probably felt quick because you spent the entire ride immersed in your music collection," he pointed out, giving his best friend a playful nudge.

Ben appeared next to Jon. "I actually slept on a plane ride for once," he said, clearly proud of his accomplishment.

"Yeah, you were unusually peaceful," Jack remarked.

"We didn't have to listen to you rant about how horrible plane food is this time," Mark said. "It was wonderful."

"Oh, I didn't even think about that," Jon exclaimed, laughing. 

Ben didn't say anything, but rolled his eyes.

The passengers started to leave the aircraft, so the boys quickly gathered their belongings and joined the line into the airport. As soon as they stepped into the gate, the smell of Costa coffee wafted under their noses, and out the window was a bright, cloudless blue sky.

They were home.

"C'mon," Ben said, leading them to the exit. "Let's go and get a taxi."

 

_____

 

An hour and a half later, they found themselves crammed into the back two rows of a medium-sized silver taxi cab, speeding down the highway. Lush, green, rolling hills zoomed past them, combining with the sky to make the world a delightful canvas of turquoise. The afternoon sunlight beamed down on the car, filling it with luminescent golden rays. Their cab driver eventually turned on the radio to an 80s music station, and not long after Mark and Ben were merrily belting the lyrics to every Cure song that played. Jon and Jack just glanced at each other and shook their heads through wide grins, too happy to be going home to stop their companions' enjoyment.

The rolling hills gradually became more flat, and before they knew it, they were driving into Scariff. Nostalgia kicked in as they drove past the gift shop and gas station and the fishing store. They drove past the docks and the gaming store and the library, and soon found themselves pulling into Jack's house's driveway. Jon paid the cab driver, and they rounded up their bags from the trunk. 

The cab quickly left, leaving them standing in front of Jack's house, staring at it in awe.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to see a house again," Mark said, feeling elated.

"Ah, come on, you're always happy to see my house," Jack chuckled.

"It's been so long since we've seen it, and it's still standing," joked Ben, shading his eyes from the sun.

"Where's the dog?" Jon asked, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder. 

"Harley's staying with the fam," Jack replied.

"Ah."

There was a brief silence.

"You wanna go inside and get some drinks?" 

 

___

 

The boys sat on a hill a little ways from the house, a cooler set before them, filled with a variety of ice-cold beverages. Jack brought out a Bluetooth speaker and played some Toro y Moi from his phone.

"You know , I actually miss our weekly band practices at this place," Ben admitted, bursting open a can of Tuborg.

"Definitely," Jon agreed, taking a sip of his drink. "I remember one of the first times I came over here, Jack and I got absolutely smashed in the backyard and we forgot to throw out all the bottles, so we ended up getting caught and I wasn't allowed back for a month." 

"What can I say, true friends get wasted together," Jack said, smiling sheepishly.

Mark brushed his hair out of his eyes and leaned back on his elbows. "Y'know, as much as I enjoy touring and all that, I sometimes wish we were still that local Irish band that played gigs at all these clubs and bars in the city center," he confessed. "I'm not saying I hate travelling around the world, because I don't, I love playing concerts in all these new and remarkable countries. We've been given such a remarkable opportunity to do something great, and it's the best thing I've done in my entire life."

He took a deep breath and continued. "But I guess what I'm trying to say is... I've spent my entire life here, up until a little while ago. Hell, we all have. And I guess, for me at least, this place has sort of become a permanent part of me; there's this one invisible string that's been keeping my heart attached to Ireland, and it's so dense and full of memories that I can't ever think of severing it. Whenever we played in those larger concert venues - Madison Square Garden, The Music Village, Stage AE - every single time, my mind couldn't help but flash back to the days when we used to play at Whelan's and Workman's and the Button Factory and the like. Playing at different famous venues worldwide is amazing, but as much as I love it, I often get nostalgic for the time when we were still four blokes jamming out in that tiny third floor practice room."

Jon smiled and gave Mark a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I miss it too, mate," he said. "But even though we're touring, that doesn't mean we're obliged to forget everything. Those days don't have to be completely behind us. We can take frequent breaks and visit every now and then... I mean, isn't that what we're doing right now?" He motioned to the landscape before them. "And every time we come back, we can have practice just like the old days, upstairs in Jack's house, just the four of us. It doesn't have to come to a stop completely."

Mark nodded slowly. "I suppose you're right."

"We can go down to the water and eat lunch and go deep into conversation about the extraordinary works of Mac DeMarco," Ben chimed in. 

"I mean, we don't necessarily even need to go anyplace in particular while we're visiting," Jack added. "My place has been like a safe haven for us. We can just stay there and eat food and play music and watch stuff on TV." He laughed. "I guess it's majestic in its own way."

"Haha, yeah, I guess it is," Mark agreed. "It's like our own little castle on the hill."

The day was wearing off, and the sky was streaked with a beautiful sunset. Jon, Jack, Mark, and Ben stayed on the hill, talking and laughing and crying and remembering. They stayed out long after the sun had lowered completely beneath the hills, and after everyone else in the town had turned out their lights, leaving them in a peaceful darkness underneath the night sky which was now full of stars.

 

None of them wanted to be the first to go inside.

 


End file.
